Toe gauging device for shoe fitting



Oct. 22, 1935. E J uss 2,018,631

TOE GAUGING DEVICE FOR SHOE FITTING Filed March 2, 1934 Patented Oct.22, 1935 UNITED STATES TOE GAUGING DEVICE FOR SHOE FITTING Elmer J.Bliss, Boston, Mass., assignor to Regal Shoe Company, Whitman, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts Application March 2, 1934, Serial No.713,716

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the fitting of shoes for the purpose ofselecting from the stock on hand shoes of appropriate size to correctlyfit the foot of a prospective customer.

Experience has shown that there is a very high percentage of the publicwearing shoes that are in reality too short to afford proper clearancebetween the tip of the toe and the tip of the toe cap of the shoe andthis results in serious and oftentimes permanent distortion of, andinjury to, the foot of the customer.

In my Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,317,681 dated October 7,1919, I disclosed a length gauge comprising a flexible bladecorresponding to: each size length and half size length measurements ofshoes, to whose forward end was secured a toe block arranged tointervene between the tip of the toe and the tip of a shoe correspondingin length to the length of the blade. While this device served togivewarning as to the deficiency of clearance space between the tip of thetoe and that of the toe cap of the shoe, there was required a completeset or range of gauges corresponding to each of the length sizes andhalf sizes and, furthermore, a gauge of this type, that was considerablyshorter than the inside length of the shoe to be tried on, might be heldrearwardly of its forward possible limit of movement by the pressure ofthe rear part of the foot on the underneath blade, so that throughcareless or negligent handling of the gauge the toe of the inserted footmight form contact with the rear of the gauge block even when the gaugeblock was some distance back of the toe into which it was supposed tofit.

The present invention is intended to provide a toe gauging element whichshall be applicable to shoes of substantially difierent lengths andconstructed so that there is no danger of its being pinched under therear part of the foot to prevent complete movement into the toe cap,since when this toe gauge is dropped into the shoe, the toe of which isheld downwardly, it not only assumes the position in the extreme tip ofthe toe cap but is so formed that the insertion of the foot acts,through the big toe, to push the device forward into the extreme tipportion of the toe part of the shoe.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated the construction of thisimproved toe gauge, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation in central crosssection showing the positioning of the toe gauge in the extreme tip ofthe toe part of the shoe and its relation to thetip of the great toe ofan inserted foot, both the shoe and the foot being shown in dottedlines.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the toe gauge removed from the shoe. 5

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the toe gauge.

The device may be made of any suitable material but I prefer, forreasons of convenience and economy, to make the device of pressed metalsuch as steel, brass or the like. i

As shown the device is made from a single piec of metal, whose forwardedge is convexly curved, as shown at i to approximately correspond tothe inside curvature of the toe portion of a shoe. At a distance whichmay vary one length size, namely, one-third inch, to several lengthsizes, there is formed an upturned lip 2, which may be struck out of thesheet metal plate I and is of sufilcient vertical width to gauge againstthe tip of the great toe, while at the same time not being too high toprevent its insertion into the extreme forward part of the toe of theshoe.

Preferably, the plate I is transversely curved, as shown in Fig. 3, tojust a suflicient degree to correspond substantially with the insidesurface 25 of the shoe bottom at this point. It will of course beunderstood that several of these toe plates may be provided, havingdifferent lengths of set-back from the front edge of the plate Iaccording to the amount of clearance that may be so desired, usuallyvarying from one and a half to as high as four length sizes.

Whatever may be the practice in different 10- calities or differentstores when the customer is to be fitted the appropriate toe gauge isselected 35 and dropped, tip first, into the toe of the shoe. The footis then inserted and, as the big toe slides along the bottom of theshoe, it tends to push the device ahead of it if it has not alreadyreached the forward limit of its movement and 40 then the toe slidesover the rearward portion of the plate to gauging position. As theweight of the person preferably rests on the ball portion of the foot,when making the selection there is no discomfort by reason of the toeoverlying the rear portion of the gauge. If, when the foot has beenfully inserted, the toe forms contact with the upstanding lip or contactmember of the device it is an indication of insufficient clearance andtherefore a somewhat longer shoe should be tried on. Except for makingprovision for different lengths of clearance or extension between thetip of the toe of the foot and the tip of the shoe, a single toe gaugemay be used for a considerable range of sizes of shoes.

The device is one that can be readily carried in the pocket so that thecustomer may, if desired, carry his own toe gauge having the desiredamount of clearance or extension when selectin his own shoes. This ofcourse would hardly be practicable with the type of toe gauge shown inmy former patent, since each gauge of that type should preferablycorrespond precisely to the length of shoe that is to be tried on,whereas the present device is dimensioned to have its rear edge somedistance forward of the ball of the foot and overlapped only by theforward portion of the toe to secure the described action.

What I claim is:

1. A toe gauge for shoe fitting embracing a plate having a convexlycurved forward edge approximately corresponding to the interiorcurvature of the toe of the shoe and terminating at its rearsubstantially in advance of the ball of the foot when in its gaugingposition, said plate being provided rearwardly of said forward edge withan upstanding gauging lip extending transversely of the shoe inopposition to the tip of the toe of an inserted foot.

2. A toe gauge for shoe fitting embracing a plate adapted to rest uponthe upper surface of a shoe bottom and having a convexly curved forwardedge adapting it to be pushed into the extreme tip portion of a shoe andhaving its rear end terminating substantially in advance of the ball ofthe foot when in its gauging position, said plate being providedintermediate of its forward and rear edges with an upstanding tipadapted to form a gauge opposed to the toe of an inserted foot toindicate insufficient length of the shoe for the foot being fitted.

3. A toe gauge for shoe fitting embracing an integral member formed ofpressed metal having its front edge convexly curved to be fitted intothe extreme toe portion of a shoe and having its medial portion struckup to form a transverse upstanding lip at a predetermined distancerearwardly of the forward edge of the plate to form engagement with thetip of the toe of an inserted foot to indicate thereby insufiicientclearance space for such foot in the shoe.

4. A toe gauge for shoe fitting embracing a plate having a convexlycurved forward edge adapted for insertion into the extreme tip portionof the toe and having a transverse rear edge .arranged to lie acrossthat portion of the interior of the shoe bottom that subtends the greattoe of an inserted foot so as to overlap but terminate beneath said toe,the medial portion of said gauge being struck up to form an upstandinglip in opposition to the tip of the inserted toe at a predetermineddistance rearwardly of its front edge.

ELMER J. BLISS.

